1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing semiconductor modules.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, DVCs and DSCs, are gaining increasing sophistication in functions and features. And to be accepted by the market, they have to be smaller in size and lighter in weight, and for the realization thereof, there is a growing demand for highly-integrated system LSIs. On the other hand, these electronic devices are desired to be easier or handier to use, and therefore the LSIs used in those devices are required to be more functionally sophisticated and better performing. For this reason, the higher integration of LSI chips is causing increases in I/O count (the number of inputs/outputs), which in turn generates demand for smaller packages. To satisfy both these requirements, it is strongly desired that semiconductor packages suited for the high board density packaging of semiconductor components be developed. To meet such needs, a variety of packaging technologies called CSP (Chip Size Package) are being developed.
A method of manufacturing semiconductor modules of such a CSP type has been proposed as follows as a method to reduce the number of processes. In other words, this conventional method is such that semiconductor constructions having external connection electrodes are first arranged on a base plate in such a manner as to be mutually apart slightly from each other, and an insulating layer is formed in a periphery-side surface of the semiconductor constructions. Then, the semiconductor constructions and the insulating layer are covered with an insulating film, and a metallic sheet (metallic plate) having bump electrodes is disposed on the insulating film. Then, the bump electrodes are connected to the external connection electrodes by having the bump electrodes bite into the insulating film. After this, a rewiring is formed by patterning the metallic sheet, thereby completing the fabrication of the semiconductor module.
In the above-described method for manufacturing the CSP-type semiconductor modules, a semiconductor wafer on which a plurality of semiconductor devices are formed are diced into pieces with the semiconductor wafer fixed firmly to a dicing tape or the like. Those divided into individual semiconductor devices by the dicing are separated one by one from the dicing tape with the result that those separated are arranged on the base plate serving as a support in such a manner that they are mutually apart slightly from each other. This is how semiconductor modules are formed.
Also known is a wafer expansion unit, so-called an expanding apparatus, which is used to separate the individual semiconductor devices from the dicing tape. The wafer expansion unit expands a wafer fixed to a wafer sheet in such a manner that the wafer sheet (dicing tape), to which the diced wafers are fixed, is clamped and set on an upthrust table (collet type) and thereby the wafer sheet is thrust upward. Expanding the wafer provides a gap (space) between adjacent semiconductor devices, so that each semiconductor device can be easily separated from the dicing tape.
As described above, in the conventional method for manufacturing the CSP-type semiconductor modules, the individual semiconductor devices are separated one by one from the dicing tape with the result that those separated are arranged on the base plate serving as a support in such a manner that they are mutually apart slightly from each other. This is how semiconductor modules are formed. Accordingly, it takes time to arrangement the semiconductor devices, thus causing a drop in production efficiency of semiconductor modules.